Formula One Coming to Miami in 2019

The Miami City Commission and Miami Dade County’s Economic Development and Tourism Committee voted 5-0 to “bring the Formula 1 Racing Circuit to the City of Miami for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix from 2019 to 2028”. The unanimous vote means Formula One will now draft a host city contact for review prior to July 1. Assuming the deal is consummated, the Miami Grand Prix will take place in October 2019 (between circuit stops in Austin and Mexico); with a 2.57-mile street track proposed to run through downtown Miami, by American Airlines Arena (home of the Heat) and over Biscayne Bay. Liberty Media Corp., which has spoken extensively about increasing its presence in the U.S., is also reportedly exploring the potential for races in Las Vegas and New York/New Jersey.

Howie Long-Short: Liberty Media Corp. (LMCA) reported Q1 ’18 earnings of $131 million on $1.5 billion in revenue (+9% YoY), but Formula One Group didn’t contribute to those profits; F1 reported an operating loss of $118 million during the first quarter.

The F1 TV Pro streaming service launched ahead of this past weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, but unfortunately it made a less than stellar first impression. Subscribers of the $89.99 (annual) service complained of issues with audio, buffering and video display. F1 (FWONK) has since announced they will be refunding subscribers 2 weeks’ worth of subscription fees, but that’s unlikely to appease fans unhappy about missing the race. Of course, while that will hurt Q2 revenue, it’s not a reason to panic; you may recall Amazon’s NFL coverage got off to a rocky start and they managed to quickly resolve the issues.

Fan Marino: Formula One has applied for a trademark on the “shoey”, a traditional Aussie “celebration” (stemming from early 2000’s surf culture) where one drinks alcohol from a worn shoe (it looks as strange as it sounds, here’s video). While Daniel Ricciardo, an Australian driver who competes for Red Bull racing, has been credited with popularizing the tradition within the sport; it was Australian MotoGP rider Jack Miller to first do it on the podium back in June 2016.